We, the undersigned scientists, write to register our strong support of Senate Bill 607 (Wiener, 2025). This bill places a bond on the 2026 ballot to create and fund the California Foundation for Science and Health Research, which would award grants and make loans to public or private research companies, universities, institutes, and health care organizations in the State of California for scientific research and development.
California is the world’s fourth largest economy and is home to the world’s most dynamic research ecosystem — including the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology, Scripps Research, City of Hope, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Kaiser Permanente’s research division, and many others. These research institutions perform ground-breaking science and train the next generation of researchers, a pipeline which was honored this year with a record-breaking five 2025 Nobel Prizes in the University of California system.
The research enterprise across California produces innovations that contribute enormously to the health, well-being, and prosperity of millions of people not only in our state but around the world, while simultaneously undergirding California’s economy and tax base. For instance, every dollar invested in scientific research returns approximately $2.56 in economic activity. SB 607 will lead to new jobs at universities, hiring of staff, collaborations between biotech and academia, and a return on investment that will grow our local economy.
SB 607 will create a California Foundation for Science and Health Research tasked with distributing grants via a rigorous review process to support projects that benefit Californians. This bill provides an opportunity not only to affirm California’s leadership in scientific research and innovation, but also to pioneer new approaches to funding scientific research that spur more innovations to improve the lives of Californians and people around the world.
As faculty, postdocs, staff researchers, technicians, and graduate student researchers, we strongly endorse SB 607 and look forward to California continuing to lead the world in scientific research and innovation.
View the full letter and signers at fundCAscience.org (your name, position, and institution will be listed publicly).